I just need to vent a bit about this case. It is keeping me up at night right now.

I was about 8-9 YO when these things started happening in Sacramento in the mid '70's. But, as a child I knew what the "East Area Rapist" did, not who he was.

I recall Sacramento was a scared community back then.

Folks, this case is huge and now that a suspect has been identified and arrested things will change regarding how this and other sexual assault cases will be handled.

12 murders, 45 rapes and many burglaries that can be linked at this point.

Thousands of "rape kits" have gone unprocessed due to NO MOTHERFUCKER wanting to fund the programs.

These kits contain incriminating and exculpatory evidence. There are people who are in prison because of this and people who need to be in prison because of this.

Now that a suspect has been arrested after a 40+ year search/investigation, I want him to have his slow, methodical time in court. I want nothing to go wrong with the trial. If he is found guilty, I want him to burn. If he is found not guilty, I want him to live in peace.

Hundreds of lives have been ruined over this case. Careers will be made over this case. People can find peace hopefully. Books written, films made.

10's of thousands of man hours have been spent hunting this motherfucker.

MANY LE agencies have worked on this. LE, the victims, the public ALL have worked on this both knowingly and unknowingly.

I recently watched two different series about this maniac, "The Golden State Killer - It's Not Over" (4 episodes), and "Unmasking The Killer" (5 episodes). I also saw an HBO documentary just last weekend called "I Am Evidence" which was all about the tens of thousands of rape kits nationwide that have never been tested. Truly horrific stuff, all of it...

After 40 years, I'm glad a suspect has been identified and is in custody because this guy may well turn out to be the most prolific serial rapist/murderer in U.S. history.

__________________"If you force me to do violence, I shall be so savage and so cruel, and hurt you so badly that the thought of revenge shall never cross your mind" --Machiavelli

"Oderint, dum metuant" ("Let them hate, so long as they fear") - Caligula

I second your enthusiasm and excitement to the news of EAR/ONS capture. This is an incredible feat for cold cases and DNA evidence and it's not getting the coverage it deserves. I think this is a stark warning to those that have committed such atrocious acts in the past that their time is coming (Zodiac, LISK, etc). I also cant help but think it's BS that it has taken this long to bring him in, he's lived a somewhat long and free life. At 72yrs old, I don't think execution or living out his remaining years in a maximum security penitentiary is enough punishment given all he took from innocent people.

For those that are interested in this case, The Unresolved Podcast has a three parter from back in Oct 2015 that not only thoroughly lays out the case but scares the piss out of you in the process. Although the host is kind of dorky, it's very informative.

I've been following this case pretty closely for the last couple years. Books, podcasts, documentaries, and way too much time spent reading the various websites. There was so much information, so many people essentially devoting their lives to the case, investigators who were assigned to it full time for years. And they were nowhere close. It's amazing. I didn't think he'd ever be identified or at least not while he was still alive. I actually thought he'd be younger than he actually is and I never thought he had a military background. Turns out I was wrong although the Navy background is sort of irrelevant to the "military training" theories except for the diamond knot and maybe organizational skills.

I had the day off, saw that he had been caught within minutes of waking up and spent the whole day glued to the TV and internet. It's amazing. Bruce Herrington toasted the useless, obstructionist politicians pretty hard and it was awesome. The California DNA database exists mainly due to Herrington throwing his personal fortune behind it and a lot of innocent people have been exonerated and guilty people imprisoned due to his efforts. I'm sure we'll learn that the database played a large role in bringing his brother's murderer to "justice".

I loved seeing Paul Holes in the background. Guy devoted an incredible amount of effort to the case and it will be interesting to see if any of his theories are close to the truth. I'm glad they brought him into the fold for this even though he's retired. Would have been cool to see Carol Daly, Larry Pool and Crompton there too. I wish more of the victims were around to see this day.

I hope DeAngelo talks. It's amazing what has already come out. Turns out a bunch of the sketches look just like him at various points in his life. He was an active officer during the Visalia Ransacker phase (holy shit btw!) and all but one of the EAR attacks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delaware21

I also cant help but think it's BS that it has taken this long to bring him in, he's lived a somewhat long and free life.

Is this a general "if I was a cop!" type statement or do you have some specific criticisms?

__________________
"The real problem was being able to stick it out, to sit in an office under the orders of a wee man in a dark gray suit and look out of the window and recall the bush country, the waving palms, the smell of sweat and cordite, the grunts of the men hauling jeeps over the river crossings, the copper-tasting fears just before the attack, and the wild, cruel joy of being alive afterward. To remember, and then go back to the ledgers and the commuter train, that was impossible. He knew he would eat his heart out if it ever came to that."

Identified through familial DNA from a relative uploaded to a commercial site. Holy shit. A lot of people predicted that's how he'd be found.

__________________
"The real problem was being able to stick it out, to sit in an office under the orders of a wee man in a dark gray suit and look out of the window and recall the bush country, the waving palms, the smell of sweat and cordite, the grunts of the men hauling jeeps over the river crossings, the copper-tasting fears just before the attack, and the wild, cruel joy of being alive afterward. To remember, and then go back to the ledgers and the commuter train, that was impossible. He knew he would eat his heart out if it ever came to that."

This case has stirred up MANY in about 20 counties in California. Then, Australia is looking at this guy as well.

Taxing days.

The DA said there's no Australian angle and she'd only heard of that the day before. Australian authorities have said he's 100% not Mr. Cruel.

__________________
"The real problem was being able to stick it out, to sit in an office under the orders of a wee man in a dark gray suit and look out of the window and recall the bush country, the waving palms, the smell of sweat and cordite, the grunts of the men hauling jeeps over the river crossings, the copper-tasting fears just before the attack, and the wild, cruel joy of being alive afterward. To remember, and then go back to the ledgers and the commuter train, that was impossible. He knew he would eat his heart out if it ever came to that."

Is this a general "if I was a cop!" type statement or do you have some specific criticisms?

No criticism of LE/Sleuths/Detectives at all. I was just making a stupid point that it would of been nice for him to have been rotting in a cell or the ground for the last 30-40 years instead of living as a free man into his elder years. Anyway, it would of been nice if god granted me the ability to grow a full beard too, you win some you lose some I suppose.

Again, I definitely didn’t mean to undervalue any of the incredible work and years and lives that went into solving this case.

Absolutely. The Zodiac Killer, Manson Family, Son of Sam, they didn't have shit on this guy. Others killed more as far as sheer numbers, but the incredible number of rapes, the diversity of his "career", his boldness, nobody else approaches him. I think a lot of it has to do with his various sprees weren't connected until twenty years after he apparently stopped. Him being the Visalia Ransacker was only a theory that most people dismissed as bullshit until he apparently admitted it.

I'm 100% certain he's responsible for other murders that he hasn't been linked to yet. There are several that fit his patterns.

__________________
"The real problem was being able to stick it out, to sit in an office under the orders of a wee man in a dark gray suit and look out of the window and recall the bush country, the waving palms, the smell of sweat and cordite, the grunts of the men hauling jeeps over the river crossings, the copper-tasting fears just before the attack, and the wild, cruel joy of being alive afterward. To remember, and then go back to the ledgers and the commuter train, that was impossible. He knew he would eat his heart out if it ever came to that."

No criticism of LE/Sleuths/Detectives at all. I was just making a stupid point that it would of been nice for him to have been rotting in a cell or the ground for the last 30-40 years instead of living as a free man into his elder years.

Oh yeah 100% agree. I also think there's some valid criticism of the police back then, the first thing that comes to mind is how slow they were to notify the public and how certain departments refused to communicate and share information. Without referring to a book I can't remember the details but I believe one town refused to have the sheriff's department involved in the response. That's unforgivable.

__________________
"The real problem was being able to stick it out, to sit in an office under the orders of a wee man in a dark gray suit and look out of the window and recall the bush country, the waving palms, the smell of sweat and cordite, the grunts of the men hauling jeeps over the river crossings, the copper-tasting fears just before the attack, and the wild, cruel joy of being alive afterward. To remember, and then go back to the ledgers and the commuter train, that was impossible. He knew he would eat his heart out if it ever came to that."

__________________
"The real problem was being able to stick it out, to sit in an office under the orders of a wee man in a dark gray suit and look out of the window and recall the bush country, the waving palms, the smell of sweat and cordite, the grunts of the men hauling jeeps over the river crossings, the copper-tasting fears just before the attack, and the wild, cruel joy of being alive afterward. To remember, and then go back to the ledgers and the commuter train, that was impossible. He knew he would eat his heart out if it ever came to that."

And more than most people think. There is a great book (and TED talk) by Jon Ronson called The Psychopath Test, that estimates that one percent of the population and up to four percent of CEOs and business leaders are psychopathic. Not all are criminally inclined fortunately. Very interesting read.